[DanAwesome]

 
Quote:

I honestly find the k702 comfortable after they have been worn for a couple months, but they squeeze for a little bit.  If you have a friend with a fat head then let them borrow them for a week or two then you'll be okay.

I do have a friend with a very fat head lol. Maybe I'll go with this.
 
Anyway, as far as soldering goes, I have zero experience so I probably will not go that rout, but I am definitely interested in investing in a good headphone amp in the future. I just can't afford it at the moment. Actually, I know it is not a dedicated amp, but this looks interesting if anybody knows how this would do with the 702s (I like the idea of a portable player that doesn't need a separate amp to sound great):
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13645_3-20021179-47.html
 
And dxanex, its nice to hear from another owner of bothe the 280s and the 702s that they are big improvement. I have just been slightly worried that there will only be a minor improvement and not really be worth the $260 I'm paying for the 702s.

 

[dxanex]

I would say to anyone coming from the HD280 Pro is that it might take a little time to get used to the bass. K702 is nowhere near the warmish bloated bass of HD280. Instead it's very very natural sounding, and clean.
 
Everything else you will notice imporvement immediately. Be prepared to blown away by some amazing soundstage. Again, there is just no comparison...but they do need a good amount of current to really sing.
 
 
EDIT: I just noticed that you are going to use these directly from a sound card or iPod. It will still sound good but not as good as it can. Keep in mind that you will see an even bigger improvement on sound with a dedicated amp. I know it sucks to have to spend more to make an already pricey headphone sound it's best. I suggest looking into the little dot I+ (what I'm using in my avatar pic) It's a fantastic match and it's around 130 after shipping on eBay. Or the Fiio E9 which I've also been reading drives them amazingly well...the E9 is around 180 I believe.
 
The LDI+ was absolutely worth the investment. I started out with a $300 Canamp and sold it after I realized they sounded just as amazing with the LDI+. I listen to mostly electronic and classical to chill out and every time I listen I'm still impressed with how good they sound.
 
Looking forward to hearing your impressions. Welcome, and sorry about your wallet. It's not going to stop...
Quote:

 
 
And dxanex, its nice to hear from another owner of bothe the 280s and the 702s that they are big improvement. I have just been slightly worried that there will only be a minor improvement and not really be worth the $260 I'm paying for the 702s.

 

[DanAwesome]

 
Quote:

I would say to anyone coming from the HD280 Pro is that it might take a little time to get used to the bass. K702 is nowhere near the warmish bloated bass of HD280. Instead it's very very natural sounding, and clean.

I don't really like the bass of the 280s very much, so it's probably a good thing that the bass is completely different in the 702s. I much prefer accuracy to power. (and my 280s always seem kind of weak in bass actually, unless I EQ down some of the mids which seem to overwhelm the bass)
 
And I will definitely check out amps once I get a little more money together.
 
I'm hoping using my ps3 as a CD player through my home theater AV receiver (connected by HDMI) will provide at least a decent amount of power for the 702s, although I know it isn't really a dedicated headphone amp. The receiver is not particularly great but I'm guessing it would beat an ipod until I get a headphone amp. Any thoughts on that? (The receiver is a Yamaha RX-V463BL if that helps)

 

[bwhsh8r]

Yah, from what I have read the dac is a little more complicated. All depends on what you go with.  I did not personally solder the gamma 2, my friend had someone on the boards build it for him, and sold it on to me.  I don't think that I would personally have the skill to build the gamma 2, I'm more of cmoy level

 

[dxanex]

 
Quote:

 
 
I'm hoping using my ps3 as a CD player through my home theater AV receiver (connected by HDMI) will provide at least a decent amount of power for the 702s, although I know it isn't really a dedicated headphone amp. The receiver is not particularly great but I'm guessing it would beat an ipod until I get a headphone amp. Any thoughts on that? (The receiver is a Yamaha RX-V463BL if that helps)

I'm not familiar with that receiver but I imagine that with the PS3 will be more than adequate to get the potential out of the K702. I hooked mine up to my borther's Harmon Kardon DTS receiver and played some Mass Effect 2 just for ****s and giggles and it sounded really damn good, almost as good as his surround sound speakers...but I don't usually use headphones for gaming, just music.
 

 

[Dead-Vocalist]

Hi everyone,
 
Though I personally like neutral headphones the HD 280 pro may have more going on than just emphasising bass.  There is an interesting behavior with self damping that seems to be present in the HD 280 pro that was identified in the video below by Dave Rat, a live sound engineer of some fame.
 
DV
 

 

[DanAwesome]

Just thought I'd update.
 
My 702s FINALLY came in the mail (I'm not very patient. It's actually a day early compared to amazon's estimate lol).
 
My initial impression after a couple hours of listening:
I've heard that they benefit greatly from a few hundred hours of burn in time, but obviously I have not had that time yet. But already they sound fantastic to me. Much more detail than the 280s, and much more comfortable. The ear pads are the most comfortable I have ever felt, and they don't squeeze my head like the 280s. The bass is accurate instead of powerful, which is what I prefer. I would rather hear what the bass is playing instead of just be bombarded by BAAASSS without any detail like some headphones. I have heard that with more burn in the bass gets a little stronger without losing any detail, which should be nice although I am happy with it the way it is even if it does not change. They definitely take a lot more power to drive. I don't listen at particularly loud levels to preserve my hearing, so my iPhone was able to get the volume to where I like, but that was almost maxing out the volume (probably around 75-90% depending on the song). With the 280s I rarely go above 50%.  My computer has a much easier time driving them. I still need to try them with my CD -> PS3 -> AV receiver set up. They definitely do not block out or contain sound, but I knew that going in due to their open design compared to the 280s. 
 
Anyway, so far I am very happy with them. I will probably update later after I have tried them longer and let them burn in a bit.
 
And I finally look like princess Leia due the GIGANTIC earpieces lol.

 

[spoop]

If you are looking for an amp, I doubt there is any better deal out there for a great K702 match than the blue caliente amp: http://purityaudio.com/products.php

 

[Acix]

Congratulation, Dan! the burn in process have few steps, my first change was around 120 hours, the second was around 250-300 hours.